Jeff Durlauf began his career at Oakland City University in 2002, joining the OCU baseball team after graduating from Forest Park High School in Ferdinand, Indiana. In his four-year career as a Mighty Oak, he compiled a career batting average of .360 in 470 at bats, wracking up 169 hits, including 34 doubles, eight triples, 39 home runs, 114 runs scored, 124 runs batted in, 62 walks, 15 stolen bases, and 13 outfield assists. 

He holds the all time record for career home runs, as well as single season home runs. Durlauf was named an NCCAA All-American in 2005, and was an NCCAA All-Region player in 2004 and 2005. He was named to the NCAA Division II All-Region First-Team in 2005, only the second OCU player to earn such an honor, following a spot on the NCAA Division II All-Region Second-Team in 2004. He also played in three NCCAA National Tournaments, including a final four appearance in 2002 and a national runner-up finish in 2005, the highest finish in school history.

Durlauf graduated from OCU with a bachelor of science degree in career and technical education, going on to teach business at Heritage Hills High School, then at Forest Park High School, his alma mater. During his time as a high school educator, his love for baseball transitioned into a varsity head coaching position at Heritage Hills High School from 2006-2008, then as an assistant coach for Forest Park High School from 2008-2012, coaching a number of players who continued their careers at the college level.

In 2013, Durlauf opened Southern Indiana Complete Fitness (SICFitness), a cross-training fitness facility, where he has trained individuals of all ages, from student-athletes to people in their retirement years and everything in between. He also works in insurance sales with Ferdinand Farmers Insurance.

He married Megan (Lampert) Durlauf, who is the Director of Dubois County Community Corrections, and they have two children, Jerrison, born in 2014, and Raylin, born in 2016, who both love baseball nearly as much as their dad. Durlauf's new pastime is coaching his boys, as his love for the game of baseball has never dimmed.